Precious Whispers
by The Trishster
Summary: Hushed words that were never meant to be said or heard can mean the most to those who they weren't meant to be heard by. [SOKAI]


**Author's Note: Hey, guys! I'm back! Well, I wasn't really gone, but I HAVE been busy writing stuff for you. Be happy! So, I think this one is short, but cute. And the best version of this particular idea that I've had so far. Yes, it gave me trouble. But, I think this one came out good because I really liked it. So, please read & review! Thank you!

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**I**m**_a_**gin_e_ t_h_i**s**

A lithe figure resting comfortably on her stomach, a solid navy blue couch as her bed.

Long scarlet tresses obscuring her facial features.

A gentle snore emanating from her parted lips, her nose not of much use at the moment.

Five slender digits gently brushing the black carpet beneath her.

A small black box on the floor, unlocked and wide open.

I**_m_**a_gi_n**e** t**h**a_t_

_**- - -**_

Sora leaned his head to one side, an uneasiness beginning to arise within him at the sight that lay there, napping. He had never seen her like this, passed out cold on her sofa wearing nothing but a lavender-colored robe and her white nightdress underneath it. The flu had made her its victim multiple times before, but never had it actually won the battle and made her sleep. She liked to get work done, yet here she was, sleeping tranquilly, probably not even dreaming of all the work she usually did whenever she took ill.

He looked around the area nervously. Everything was clean, as usual, but not "Kairi-has-a-cold-and-cleans-like-mad" clean. Normally, the house would be sparkling unnaturally from top to bottom; right now, it looked like it did every other day. Sora brought his stare back to the slumbering red-head. She seemed as if she had been working hard on something, just not the house. He gingerly walked over to where she slept and knelt down to her level.

He didn't ordinarily get a chance such as this one to really _look_ at Kairi. Of course, there were the things that were hard to ignore like the fact that she was the only girl in all of Destiny Islands with red hair and how she was one of the shortest people among her small group of companions. But those things were trivial and unimportant. What about the small, minuscule details that were often overlooked? Were they insignificant just because they were not one of Kairi's main features?

Sora carefully nudged the black box to the side, not really caring what its contents were. He blinked a few times before forcing himself to softly push away the ruby-red locks that covered her wan face, an obvious effect from her illness. Removing his hand slowly, Sora gazed intently at her. He simply looked, wanting to take in what everyone else took for granted or didn't even notice. Her small nose, her tiny ears, her pink lips- he took it all in. Sora sighed almost sadly when he realized that her eyes were concealed from him by her eyelids. He had really wanted to look at them. Yet, despite the inconvenience, Sora already knew that what he didn't see was a pair of beautiful blue eyes, something that he was surprised nobody else every commented on.

She was, if nothing else, heavenly.

A thought ran through Sora's head as he continued to survey her features and it made him stop suddenly. He immediately stood and stepped back, a pang of guilt hitting him. He felt as if he had invaded her privacy in a way. Watching a girl while she was asleep? It did seem like quite the intrusion on Kairi's personal space. How could he not have even thought about the consequences of what he had just done? What if Kairi had awoken to find a curious face as the first thing she saw? Sora knew all too well that she wouldn't be very pleased with that. And even if she didn't mind, he still felt that it was wrong. The way he had been looking at her and thinking about her had not been in a friendly way, but in more of an affectionate manner. He knew Kairi didn't feel the same way; he could _sense_ it. But there he was, looking at her as if they already had a romantic relationship.

Exhaling quietly, Sora tried to think. Even though it would undoubtedly be hours before the girl awoke, sleeping on the sofa wasn't at all as comfortable as Kairi made it seem; Sora would know from all the times he had been much too lazy to reach his bed. He couldn't very well leave her there. People with the flu needed to have adequate conditions and this included a cozy place to rest.

Sora, still feeling guilty about the entire staring incident, eventually thought of an idea. Carefully, he placed his gloved hands beneath Kairi's limp body and scooped her up into his arms. He cradled her almost as you would a child, his long arms holding her tight enough so that she wouldn't slip from his grip. This kind gesture seemed, to Sora, to be unfair, as he was holding the girl who held his affection in his arms. Still, he had self-control and, after taking a deep breath, began the trek up the staircase to the young girl's bedroom.

The extremely short trip started off well, partially because Kairi was simply so easy to carry. However, halfway up the stairs, the girl shifted. Sora froze in his place, panicking at the thought of her waking up. Fortunately, she only sniffled her stuffed-up nose before burying her face in his shirt. A strange cross between relief and disappointment took hold of Sora's mind briefly, but he ignored it and continued to bring Kairi to her room. A smile graced his lips when he found that her door was open, making this entire process much easier.

He took a step inside of the small bedroom. The walls were painted a peach-yellow color and were adorned with pictures of people Kairi knew- her friends, her family, her teachers from elementary school, all of them. Sora was in momentary awe at the sight of so many photos. Since when had Kairi decorated her room with such a multitude of photographs? Regaining composure, the young boy stepped towards the queen-sized bed and lingeringly lay her down.

After slipping his hands out from beneath Kairi, Sora quickly looked around. The images had such variety and it amazed him that Kairi even _had_ all these photos. He knew most of the people like Kairi's parents and Riku's cousin that had only visited once many years ago. He recognized a funny picture of himself and Riku when they had been but nine years old and had dressed up as vampires for Halloween. So many images, so many memories that he thought had been forgotten. He had been proven wrong; Kairi had remembered them all and cherished them greatly.

Sora glanced at the sleeping teenager. He wrinkled his nose, a thought arising. He looked back at Kairi's bedroom walls, then returned his gaze to her again.

Wait...

No wonder she had been so tired! She had been putting up all these pictures. And the box that had been next the couch probably held more pictures that she had may have been shifting through before she fell asleep. It all made sense now!

The corners of his mouth curled upwards at the thought of all the hard work Kairi must have put into placing all these memories in her room. Unable to keep his focus on anything else but Kairi, Sora stared at her, his eyes shining in pure joy and...

Love.

Sora found himself laughing faintly to himself. _'This girl is unbelievable. Unbelievably sweet. Unbelievably thoughtful. Simply unbelievable.'_

He turned around, about to make his way to the Kairi's plain white door. However, he stopped in his tracks at the sight of a certain picture that he had not seen before. Curious, Sora began to walk slowly to the picture, the image becoming clearer and more distinct with each step. He finally ended up right in front of it and, remembering when he had taken this photo, placed his hand upon it.

It was a Christmas card, but the picture meant more to him then what the the words on the card said. Sora recalled being stalked by Kairi's mother with a camera one Christmas when he had been seven. At one point, he and Kairi had unknowingly ended up underneath some mistletoe that had been conveniently placed above the doorway to the playroom. Of course, Kairi's mom was waiting happily for this exact moment to occur, as he later found out. She had pointed out the mistletoe and explained the tradition. Sora remembered making gagging noises at the thought of kissing Kairi, but abruptly stopped when he felt a pair of soft lips pressed against his cheek. He had only felt them for a second, but Kairi's mother had a fast finger and quickly shot the photo, grinning ear to ear as she did so. The picture ended up being on the front of all of Kairi's mother's Christmas cards that year and Sora had felt a little bit more than embarrassed about the whole thing. But the talk about the "cute picture" soon faded and the picture had been forgotten, just as Sora had hoped. Now, it was a different story. He was glad that Kairi still had that moment with her, that it was hanging on her wall for her to look at every day. He knew that at the time, it had meant nothing. But as he continued to look at it, he wished that it had meant more, even if they had only been seven years old. Sora turned to Kairi's sleeping body and smiled as he walked back to her side, ready to return the favor.

Without the mistletoe.

Before he could stop himself, Sora had already bent down, his hand on her thin arm, and kissed Kairi tenderly on her warm cheek. He stayed there but for a moment before pulling away, his face still close to hers. In a sad sort of whisper, he said, "I love you."

Feeling that his job here was finally done, he straightened his posture and proceeded to stroll towards the door. Sora grabbed the doorknob tightly, sighing discontentedly. It was a shame that his little confession would go unnoticed by Kairi, similar to the little things about her that often went without being seen by others. Still, he couldn't help but feel proud for having said it, at least. Sora looked back at Kairi, finding her still snoozing. He chuckled again, opened the door, and slipped out of her room, completely unaware of the red-head as she shifted in her bed and sleepily murmured,

"I love you, too."

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**Author's Note: Well, the ending wasn't exactly what I was planning on going for(so rushed it's not even funny), but it came pretty close. In fact, I think it came out better this way(without the rushiness of it all). And besides, I liked how there were only two spoken lines in the entire story. It brought more attention to the actual writing. I know most of you skip straight to the dialogue. I should know. I'm guilty of it myself. But anyway...**

**So, now go review please! Thank you!**

**Constructive criticism wanted and appreciated. Flames are allowed, but will probably be ignored.**

**-- Trish(Unmei06)**

**P.S. I just realized something. This story, well, certain parts of it(more specifically, the very ending), seem to tie in with one of my previous stories, Lie To Me. This was completely unintentional, mind you. How that happened, I'm not sure. But this may be a good thing. You can take this as what it was supposed to be: a completely different story that didn't relate at all with the previous one. Or you can take it as maybe...a version of the Lie To Me, except the roles have been switched(Kairi is saying "I love you,too" instead of Sora). Get it? Take it however you prefer. Thank you.**


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